


Late Night Coffee

by AkiNoHyo



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Sports, Barista Callum, Cute Ending, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Football Player Soren, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slice of Life, Soulmates, Volleyball Player Rayla
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-02
Updated: 2019-04-02
Packaged: 2019-12-25 10:01:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18259025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AkiNoHyo/pseuds/AkiNoHyo
Summary: When he looked back at it, it seemed impossible. How everything on this lazy and calm evening was due to some events occurring so many years ago, when he was still in university, trying to sort things out in his head. If it had been for one step made differently, he may not have ended up here, in this life he always wanted. A volleyball game that had shaped his future, an evening that had led to the most meaningful meeting in his life…And it had all started with a cup of coffee.





	Late Night Coffee

**Author's Note:**

  * For [The Dragon Prince Community](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=The+Dragon+Prince+Community).



> Hewo people! 
> 
> This is the first fanfic I'm writing alone and I'm not really good in english so please be kind (~˘▾˘)~
> 
> I had this cute idea of an au lately and I wanted to write smt about tdp so here you go folks!

_It was already late when Callum finally settled on the floor, empty boxes before him. The heat of the summer day lingered in the room despite the wide-open windows, and he could feel it playing with the soft breeze and heavying the air. With a sigh, he glared at the night sky, wondering how many times left he'd be able to see it from here. His stuffed study reminded him that he was destined to be someplace else, and yet he ran his fingers across the wooden floor to feel it once again. He knew it perfectly, having sat here for the last four nights, trying to sort out his stuff for the boxes. He held back a yawn, drained off by the summer heat. With the long days and short nights, the world seemed to sink in a bath of warm fuzziness where no one wanted to do a thing. Callum was no exception. Despite all the work he had to do, the buzzing sound of the crickets and the weight of the never-ending heat-wave were too much for him._

_He sighed as he finally took one of the sketchbooks in his hands. One of too many, in his opinion, but he couldn't bring himself to throw any of them away. The stuff scattered around him was mostly made of sketchbooks and art project he never got to finish, but there were also toys and plush that had belonged to Ezran at some point. He'd never quite realized how many things he kept in his study. Art supplies, music sheets, toys, plush, work stuff, useless trinkets he had promised to sort out... Also, a bunch of lucky charms, because some people thought he needed them more than he actually did._

_And of course, the memories._

_Call him a helpless romantic, but Callum valued memories more than anything. Half of the stuff lying around shone a particular light to his eyes because they were linked to meaningful events that had occurred in his life. So far, he had gotten his hands on his first drawing, on Ezran's first gift to his high school girlfriend and on some other stuff given by Harrow. He had a special box for all of those. After all, he couldn't let these effigies of the past die out with no one to remember them. He wanted to keep them close, even if it took so much space in the boxes. Of course, it made the work even harder, but he could handle it. That’s why he spent the next two hours sitting there, wet from the sweat of “standing around in the summer heat”, and gently brushing the pages of an old notebook, or staring at the ceiling and reminiscing._

_That’s when he caught sight of the pink glimmer of that weirdly decorated sketchbook. He couldn’t really believe it. What was it doing here? His hand reached for it before he could even form a logical thought, and he held it to his heart for a few seconds. That… How had it ended up here? Of all place, he thought this particular book would be in his room, or in the library, not in his study… A ball of tenderness and melancholy had gotten up his throat, and he just looked at the cover for a moment. His fingers brushed lazily against the blue stars and the pink shining glue. The stories in this sketchbook were… Oh, he just couldn’t express how happy he was to find it. For a moment there he even thought he might cry._

_But he didn’t. Instead, he called out, voice soft and sweet and oh so warm it even melted the summer heat. “Hey honey, come take a look at what I’ve found…”_

_A sound of steps in the stairs answered his call, but he couldn’t hold back any second longer. With a shaking hand, he opened the sketchbook, going through the old drawings, until he found what he was looking for._

_When he looked back at it, it seemed impossible. How everything on this lazy, calm evening was due to some events occurring so many years ago, when he was still in university, trying to sort things out in his head. If it had been for one step made differently, he may not have ended up here, in this life he always wanted. A volleyball game that had shaped his future, an evening that had led to the most meaningful meeting in his life…_

_And it had all started with a cup of coffee._

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Callum was twenty-one at that time. Still young, a fresh science student of Katolis University, trying his best to perform and make his family proud… That night, he had obliged to go to the volleyball match between Katolis and Xadia, their long-lasting rivals. Claudia had been the one to convince him since she had to be there to cover the event for the school’s paper. It didn’t take much convincing, actually… Callum had made a habit of following her around in these kinds of places. And NOT because he had a crush on her or anything. That would be stupid.

 

Yeah…

 

“Callum! Would you mind staying here while I interview our team’s leader?”

 

He snapped his head up to meet Claudia’s gaze, covering up the sketchbook and the drawings he’d made of her. “Huh- Yeah, of course! I-I don’t mind at all!”

 

She giggled and came closer to pat his shoulder. Usually, he would pull away from the touch, too embarrassed to lean into it like Soren told him he should. Each time Claudia stepped closer to him, touched his arm, or looked at him more than she should, it made all kind of ideas pop into his head. It made him warm, and flustered, and he wanted to run away as much as he wanted to cuddle close to her and hold her in his arms. They had been friends for so long that he almost felt bad for having this absolutely not a crush on her. Now, each little contact was so much harder than before.

 

But she didn’t seem to notice. Instead, she ruffled his hair a little and jumped down the aisle of seats to reach the court. There, she pulled out her camera and began her amazing work as one of the university’s paper reporter.

 

Callum sighed. The match was almost over, and like most of the time when they were facing Xadia, it was a tie. Even for the first match of the year, no side was holding back. It was an all-in. With a reluctant gesture, he got the sketchbook out again and scribbled little faces on it. He was used to watching those matches, but after a few, it all felt like a blur. There were rarely any new faces, and he could almost predict everything that would happen during the game. And, worst of all, he knew the second this was over he had to run to the café to help Harrow close the shop.

 

“Hey man, check out the new player. She’s really good.”

 

Callum didn’t pay much attention to the comment, clearly not meant for him, but he did scan the court to find who they were talking about. Actually, it hit him as soon as he began looking. How had he not noticed? He blamed it on the little attention he was paying to the action and tried to catch the name of the new girl. Was she a new student? Was she replacing someone? He caught someone shouting “Rayla” at her and assumed it must be her name. The two guys behind him were right; she was good. Her smash was surprisingly good for a new player, and she scored at least half of Xadia’s points. For sure, she had a promising path before her. She probably got enrolled after the last year’s student had to take off and go on with their lives. New blood for the team.

 

At the end of the match, Xadia won, but it didn’t really matter to anyone. It was a “friendly” match, set up for practice by the coaches. The two leaders shook hands, and Claudia took theirs apart for an interview while everyone else got back to the locker-room. Callum stayed where he was, on the bench, and decided to draw until his friend came back. Which she did, after a solid twenty minutes, and they both took off through the University’s halls.

 

“So? What did you think of the match?” She asked him with a delighted smile, camera still in hand. He guessed she had everything she needed -and more- for her article.

 

“You mean this match or the hundreds of other we had against Xadia?” He chuckled before taking a more serious tone. “The new player seems good. Maybe we won’t end up this year’s tournament on a tie.”

 

She giggled and ran her fingers through her hair. “You’re right. Rayla’s new in town. She got into the volleyball team the minute she landed feet on campus ground.” Her voice went quiet and her eyes began to sparkle. “They say she’s gonna become the new leader in less than a month!”

 

Callum took a step back, amazed. “Wow, that’s some responsibilities for a newcomer.”

 

He smiled at Claudia’s shrug. He knew she acted like she didn’t care only to write everything down on her article later that night. The young man would have to wait until tomorrow to get to know anything. That’s when she noticed the sketchbook he still carried in one hand.

 

“You draw something during the match?”

 

Callum hid the book behind his back. “I-Um… I don’t know what you’re talking about!” He walked past her to put a little distance. She had once snatched a drawing out of his very hands, and since that day he couldn’t trust her. Not that it bothered him to let Claudia see any of his art, but there were some doodles he didn’t want her to see in there. Doodles of her, actually. He turned his head towards her to give her a grin.

 

“Callum, you know I wouldn’t—Wait!”

 

He didn’t wait in time. Before he could even turn his head back to the hall, he collided into someone.

 

 

_That’s when the coffee came into play. Callum giggled before the old sketchbook when he tried to remember exactly how it’d all happened. It had all been kind of rushed. Him falling on the ground, the coffee getting splashed on his shirt, the sketchbook flying to the girl’s feet. He sighed, remembering the first words she had said to him._

 

 

“Did-Did I just knock off someone?” He heard her mumble and quickly opened his eyes to see who he had run into. He recognized the Rayla girl from the game, with her white hair and her purple eyes. Not that he had seen the purple for afar, but now he thought that the weird color was really cute on her and oh my god he had just made a fool of himself before the next leader of the volleyball team. She crouched before him, and he jerked back, words coming out of his lips but not making any sense.

 

“I-I I don’t know what happened I wasn’t looking I’m sorry did I hurt you oh my god I hope I didn’t hurt you can you still play are you fine do you want me to buy you another coffee I work at a café I don’t know what I’m saying oh my god!”

 

“Slow down! I’m sorry I knocked you over and I’m sorry for the coffee. Are you alright?”

 

He froze, suddenly muted by the kind voice of the girl, and a little thrown off by her accent. She laid a soft hand on his shoulder, brows increasingly furrowing as he wasn’t answering the question. She was close, a little too close for him to breathe correctly, and he didn’t want to push her but at the same time why was she so close??

 

“Callum?”

 

Claudia’s voice threw him back into reality, and that’s when he noticed how burning was the coffee on his chest. His face twitched before he could even speak, but he still tried to brush it off. “Everything’s fine, I’m fine.”

 

Rayla didn’t seem to believe it, as the shadow of worry crossed her eyes. “Are you sure? I have a spare shirt in my bag and… I can fetch it for you. If you want.”

 

Callum considered her offer. Of course, he wouldn’t complain to a dry shirt… The idea of walking around in someone else’s clothes made him uncomfortable because he didn’t know that girl and he wouldn’t be able to give her back her things. Not that she seemed to care, but what would he do with a girl’s spare shirt? Though putting that aside, the offer was kind and he felt like it would be rude to say no. Plus, he was heading to the café anyway, and he would just need to take a quick shower and put on a sweater before helping Harrow.

 

“Erm… That would be nice. Please.” His voice was low and he could feel the red rushing through his cheeks. As usual, he had succeeded in making a fool of himself in front of total strangers.

 

Rayla slipped away from him and that’s when they both noticed the sketchbook laying at her side. It had been miraculously spared from the hot beverage, though some flying sheets had escaped. Callum died even more inside as both the girls could see his ridiculous drawing of Claudia. Thousands of thoughts raced through his mind. Should he jump on them? Make an awkward comment? Fake a heart attack to distract them? Yeet himself away and never look back? Change city? Change name?

 

Yet, the volleyball girl didn’t seem to care. She gave the sheets an impressed look and quickly gathered them up to put them back in the sketchbook. “There you go.”

 

He took it back with shaking hands.

 

“My car’s parked in the front parking. Do you want to wait here or-“

 

“I’ll come with you!” He had snapped back up, almost knocking the girl over, and did all that he could to avoid Claudia’s glance. What would she think of him after seeing the doodles? That was creepy, right? She was probably freaked out and he couldn’t bear the thought of her hating him so he was just walking away. Yep, good way of dealing with his problems! Rayla raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything else before getting up.

 

“I’ll be waiting for you in the car, Callum. I promised Harrow to lift you back.” He shook his head in answer to Claudia and hurried beside the volleyball girl, squeezing the cover of the sketchbook with his fingers.

 

The walk to the car was quiet. Callum couldn’t think of anything smart to add, and Rayla apparently had nothing else to say. They passed through the campus, their footsteps being for most parts the only sound they could hear in the dark halls. Outside, they saw a group of drunk students, but no one came to bother them. Callum thanked the cold breeze for cooling down the coffee splash on his chest. It’s only after a good ten minutes and her car unlocked that the volleyball girl decided to talk again.

 

“Your drawings are amazing.” She wasn’t looking at him. With her head inside the car, searching for her bag through what seemed like a ton of stuff, he wasn’t even sure he had heard her correctly. She said nothing else, really, just mumbling to herself and cursing from times to times, but after a while, she got out with the bag and shot him a questioning look. “You’re not used to compliments, are you?”

 

He blushed again and snapped his gaze to his toes. His voice was still nothing more than a whisper, stuttering some incoherent stuff before he took a long breath and looked shyly back at her. “Thanks…”

 

It didn’t answer the question and yet she seemed satisfied with it. She opened the bag and gave him the spare shirt. He carefully took it. “You’re sure? That you want to give it to me, I mean. It’s not like I’ll be able to give it back.”

 

“Yeah, don’t worry. I have a bunch of those at home.”

 

The shirt was white, a little too big for Rayla, probably, and Callum guessed it would fit just fine.

 

“Thanks, then.”

 

He stood there awkwardly for a few seconds. Was he supposed to leave? Just like that? Should he wish her good night? Would that be too familiar? Maybe he could wish her well? Or “see you to the next game”? He didn’t want to sound too formal either. Shaking her hand would probably be way too much, right?

 

The sound of a soft huff on her end pulled him out of his thoughts. With a swing, she threw the bag back into the car and unlocked the driver’s door. “Well, see you around, drawing boy.”

 

Callum smiled at the nickname and loosened up a little. “Thanks again for the shirt, and good night.”

 

He stood there until the car disappeared from the parking lot. This had been short, a meeting that would have been nothing else than a nice story to tell later if it hadn’t been so much more. He stood there even after she was long gone, even if he didn’t know why. Maybe it was because his boring life as a science student was about to take a turn he didn’t expect. Or because it was the first time someone he didn’t know had seen his drawings and had found them “amazing”. In any case, when he finally went back inside to change in the bathroom, his mind was swirling around, lighten up by that kind girl. Eventually, he even came to brush off the embarrassment. It hadn’t been so bad, right?

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

_Callum closed the sketchbook for a second and scanned the edges of the cover to find the little coffee stain that he hadn’t noticed that night. He remembered that after going back to Claudia, the drive home had been silent. He had stressed out, afraid she might be creeped out by the drawings, only to learn the next morning that she was simply thinking about her future article. As usual, he had helped Harrow clean the café, and had even answered his questions about the shirt. If it hadn’t been for Rayla, the evening would have been like any other one. But looking back now, it was probably one of the moments he cherished the most._

_“Isn’t that the sketchbook you had when we first met?”_

_He turned to Rayla with a gleeful smile._

_“You remember!”_

_“Of course. You were so shy back then.”_

_“And you were--”_

_“Daring!”_

_Callum scoffed and rolled his eyes with a grin. “Yeah, that.”_

_They both settled in a corner of the room, where the boxes offered a comfy spot, and they turned the pages together. Their story had been one of friendship, loyalty, and eventually way more than that. That night, they slowly went through it once again, contemplating what had shaped their future._

_This is the story of the late night coffee._

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on tumblr!! ~~


End file.
